Clothing Cuisine
We’ve all been told stuff is “biodegradable”, but how much of that do you actually believe? Will that “biodegradable” plastic water bottle really disappear when you chuck it in the hedge, or will it actually end up sitting there as a constant threat to any poor little bird that dares to poke its inquisitive head inside? Well, Swedish sportswear company Houdini set out to prove that their clothes truly are biodegradable in an innovative and unique way.
How? Well, by turning their clothes into food. Confused? Well, so was I, but it’s explainable (and impressive), I promise.
Houdini commandeered one of the top, Composting Professionals (a superb job title for a conversation-starter) in Sweden to take some of their clothes and turn it into high-quality compost. Now, the issue with making compost with clothes is that all of those chemicals and additives that make your t-shirts look so splendid and silky are poisonous. Thus, if your everyday garment was used in this experiment, two things would happen: the compost produced would be highly toxic and incompetent of growing vegetables without threatening nasty illness to any consumer and you would find shirt sleeves and labels in the compost itself as the chemicals wouldn’t allow the material to properly break down. All in all, it would be an utter disaster. So, claiming to produce completely environmentally-friendly and biodegradable clothes, Houdini took a risk and hoped that, with their clothes, a successful compost could be produced.
And, after the many months of preparation, the compost was ready to be used. Vegetables were subsequently planted and the next phase of the marketing ploy could begin.
Houdini recruited Celebrity Chef Sebastian Thureson to use these vegetables (grown, technically, in clothes) and create a Michelin Star-worthy meal as part of “The Houdini Menu”. Representatives from the brand and its agency (McCann) were invited to partake in the beautiful dishes that were served and then subsequently told of the food’s origins in a surprise-and-delight manoeuvre.
It was a very cool project, unique as well as being a notable proof point for their environmental clothes. Check out the aesthetically-excellent video here and some photos of the project below.
How? Well, by turning their clothes into food. Confused? Well, so was I, but it’s explainable (and impressive), I promise.
Houdini commandeered one of the top, Composting Professionals (a superb job title for a conversation-starter) in Sweden to take some of their clothes and turn it into high-quality compost. Now, the issue with making compost with clothes is that all of those chemicals and additives that make your t-shirts look so splendid and silky are poisonous. Thus, if your everyday garment was used in this experiment, two things would happen: the compost produced would be highly toxic and incompetent of growing vegetables without threatening nasty illness to any consumer and you would find shirt sleeves and labels in the compost itself as the chemicals wouldn’t allow the material to properly break down. All in all, it would be an utter disaster. So, claiming to produce completely environmentally-friendly and biodegradable clothes, Houdini took a risk and hoped that, with their clothes, a successful compost could be produced.
And, after the many months of preparation, the compost was ready to be used. Vegetables were subsequently planted and the next phase of the marketing ploy could begin.
Houdini recruited Celebrity Chef Sebastian Thureson to use these vegetables (grown, technically, in clothes) and create a Michelin Star-worthy meal as part of “The Houdini Menu”. Representatives from the brand and its agency (McCann) were invited to partake in the beautiful dishes that were served and then subsequently told of the food’s origins in a surprise-and-delight manoeuvre.
It was a very cool project, unique as well as being a notable proof point for their environmental clothes. Check out the aesthetically-excellent video here and some photos of the project below.
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